Anchorage School District

The Anchorage School District manages all public schools within the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the 97th largest school district in the United States, serving nearly 50,000 students at over 90 schools. District superintendent Carol Comeau, appointed in December 2000, retired June 30, 2012. She was succeeded by Jim Browder. After eight months, Jim Browder quit and was replaced by Ed Graff, later in 2015 Ed Graff was replaced by Deena Paramo, previously the Superintendent of Matsu Valley School District.DemographicsIn the 2013-14 school year, the Anchorage School District enrolled approximately 48,229 students; of which 35.6% were economically disadvantaged. In terms of race and ethnicity, the Anchorage School District is considered a minority-majority district, meaning the minority groups make up the majority of the district's population. Non-white students make up roughly 56 percent of the school district's student body.Composition:The district served approximately 8,600 students with special needs who were eligible for special education services in 2008-09. Also that year, the district's English Language Learner program for students with limited English Proficiency served 5,808 students and the Gifted program assisted 3,563 students.InstructionIn 2008-09, the district's graduation rate was 70.48 percent. It has increased nearly 11 percentage points since the 2004-05 school year. The dropout rate for ASD students is 3.43 percent, a figure that has been cut nearly in half since the 2004-05 school year.